“The stuff of legends,”her dragon trilled, sounding excited.
Max fell silent, trying to analyze how he felt about this. Aw, hell. Who was he trying to kid? He’d fallen for Sasha in a big way. Yes, she was younger, but she was so special. On top of that, she was gorgeous, and her broad grin, her sense of fun, and her ability to make Noel happy pleased him too.
“Are you going to say something? Anything?”her dragon snapped finally.
“I’m pleased to meet you. This is a lot to get my head around. I am but a male, and I require time to assess everything.”He thought the words rather than stating them aloud, then held his breath for a reaction.
“Well said,”the dragon replied after a long beat of silence.“What will we do next? You’re connected to Sasha and me now. I knew you were perfect for us. I told Sasha.”
Sasha shifted a fraction in his arms, her shoulders shaking in silent merriment.
“Why are you laughing?”Sasha’s dragon demanded.
“I want to know that, too,” Max said aloud.
“You sound like our mother with the smug I-told-you-so. The last time when we were together at the family dinner, our mother told-us-so about something, and you grumbled and growled for hours.”
“Ooh,”Sasha’s dragon whispered, and she sounded a bit bemused.“That’s bad. Does sex do something weird to your brain? Should Justine, The Smart Computer, have warned us about that?”
Max barked out a laugh. “No, you’re fine in the sex department. No side effects apart from pleasure plus a mate bond. The I-told-you-so is all you.”
“Dang,”Sasha’s dragon said.“Gotta fix that. Kiss us and make us forget.”
“Now that I can do,” Max murmured, and he set about making them all forget everything except the pleasure of intimacy and touch.
Many hours later, Noel stirred in the next door bedroom, his thumps drawing their attention.
“Noel is awake,” Sasha said, starting to slip from the bed.
“Stay,” Max said. “Take a shower and come out when you’re ready. I’ll start Noel on cereal and make us a pot of tea.” He snatched a quick kiss and strode toward the connected bathroom.
“He has a very nice arse,”Sasha’s dragon said.“I want to bite it. Do you think Max would like that?”
Sasha’s dragon had forgotten he could eavesdrop on this particular channel.
Max chuckled.“As long as it isn’t with your sharp dragon teeth, I might enjoy a bite or two.”He closed the bathroom door and took care of business while listening to the conversation in his mind.“Can I turn off the chatter if I want?”he asked silently.
“All you have to do is ask me,”Sasha’s dragon said snootily.“I can switch to just Sasha. You’re new, and I forgot.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you. This is new to me too. It will take time for us to adjust,”Max replied.
“True,”Sasha’s dragon said.“I would change nothing. I like you very much.”
“Thank you,”Max said.“I likeyouvery much. You’re gorgeous.”
“There!”Sasha’s dragon shrieked.“Proof of what I’ve been saying all along. We’re gorgeous, and Max would be a fool if he walked away from us.”
Max stiffened.“You’re frightened that I’m going to have passionate sex—the best sex of my life—and just walk off into the sunset?”
“No,”Sasha said forcefully.“That is not what we’re worried about, although leaving wouldn’t be very nice of you. We’re worried about the barrier and the fact we come from different worlds.”
“That’s fair. You sensed the barrier during the flight here, right?”Max finished in the bathroom and returned to the bedroom to grab a pair of swim shorts and a T-shirt.
Sasha’s dragon gave a loud sigh as he tugged down the shirt to hide his chest. He winked at Sasha while he waited for her to answer.
“Yes, the barrier seems intact. I felt a reluctance to go too near it, which must be what the humans feel on this side. I guess thedreadkeeps away the fishermen while the big ships that travel the coast don’t come this far north.”
“All right,” Max said. “Once we’ve had breakfast, we’ll go for a walk. If we stroll toward the end of the island, we should avoid most of the tourists. From memory, they hang around the town to visit the abbey or the castle before they head back across the causeway.”
